A perfect start to the day!

There's nothing better, after a good night's sleep, a lazy wake-up and some cozy cuddling, than to sit down to a delicious, sturdy and inviting breakfast!
Welcome to my breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings (and by morning I mean no earlier than 11:30!!): a cornucopia of fruits, cheeses, pastries and of courses the required, and typical, egg! All of this is accompanied by freshly baked rolls of all kinds: poppy seed, multi-grain, plain white, etc. This is an almost typical German breakfast- almost, because there is one thing missing to make it truly typical. If you guessed that meat was missing, you are right! Since my breakfast companion is vegetarian, there are no cold cuts, sausages or any other animal parts on our breakfast plates, but I don’t miss it.

What is the best part of such a wonderful breakfast you ask? That’s easy: the best part is sharing it with the person you love!

Bon appétit!

Ampelmännchen

Pedestrian traffic lights of the East Germany

Pedestrian traffic lights of West Germany

Although Germany has officially been reunificated since October 3rd, 1990, there are still many momentos of Eastern Germany that can be found in Berlin. Point in case, the pedestrian traffic lights. Prior to the reunification of Germany, different forms of pedestrain traffic lights were used in the two German states, with those originating in the former East Germany being particularly distinctive. In contrast to the generic human figure used in West Germany, the figure in the east is generally held to be male, and wears a hat. The East Berlin Ampelmann was created in 1961 by traffic psychologist (never knew there was such a specialization!!!) Karl Peglau. He theorised that people would respond better to the traffic signals if they were presented by a friendly character, instead of meaningless coloured lights. However, Peglau is said to have initially feared that the design might be rejected because of its "petit bourgeois" hat.

Following German unification, there were attempts to standardise all traffic signals to the West German forms, leading to calls to save the East German Ampelmännchen. It thus became a kind of mascot for the East German nostalgia movement, known as Ostalgie (click on the word to learn more about this movement!). The protests were successful, and the Ampelmännchen returned to pedestrian crossings.

The Ämpelmännchen of the East are so popular here that they even have their own store! Here is the address for the Ämpelmännchen store in Berlin: http://www.ampelmann.de/html/shops.html

Click on "Ampelmann Shop" link to have a look at all the things you can get with your favorite red or green little pedestrian light men!!!

Resting place

On Tuesday, my friend Rebecca and I went to visit the Jewish Cemetery Schönhauser Allee. I had passed in front of it many times before, but it was always closed. I thought that visiting it might not be allowed, but after a bit of research, I found out that it was open to the public and I planned a trip to go and visit it. This cemetery is Berlin's second Jewish cemetery. It was created in 1827, but it was only on June 29th, 1829 that the first person was buried there. You can still find Sara Meyer's grave among the 25 000 other graves that are also there. Her headstone is engraved with the number 1. It is a very impressive cemetery. One thing that struck me as I was wondering among the headstones was how many of them were broken, had fallen from their pedestals or were half buried in the ground. This cemetery, like many others in the city, suffered great amount of damage during the many wars that took place over time in Berlin, but was especially destroyed by the Second World War. Some of the headstones were actually used as building material during the war. Many headstones were moved away from their graves, and because it was impossible to place them back in the correct place, a Lapidary was created, so that the headstones could be kept and a part of the departed still remembered. The Lapidary also acts as an information center. The many different symbols found of the headstones are explained, the Hebrew writings are translated and the history of the cemetery is explained.
It was worth the visit.

Men who visit this cemetery have to keep their heads covered by wearing one of the kippot (plural of kippah) that are provided (for a small donation)




The Lapidary

The first grave of this cemetery. It belongs to Sara Meyer who was burried on June 29th, 1829.


It is tradition to put stones on top of the headstone of someone's grave, to make it easier to recognize it.

Mo' Money, Mo' Problems!

The BVG, Berlin's equivalent to our STM, is on strike since 3 am this morning, and will stay on strike for an undetermined amount of time, but at least until the 14th of March. That means that no buses, no trams and no underground metro is running- it makes getting to places a lot of fun! Fortunately, Berlin has two metro systems: the U-Bahn, which is the underground metro (not running at the present time) and the S-Bahn, the not-underground metro!!! The S-Bahn, unlike the U-Bahn, does not belong to the BVG; instead it belongs to the DB (Deutsche Bahn- Berlin's Via Rail) and is thus still running. However, that is also soon going to change, as the DB has announced plans to go on strike this coming Monday, as of midnight. That means that on Monday, Berlin will have no running public transport of any kind. For me, that means a free day from work! For others, that means a big headache trying to figure out how to get to work.
Why is everyone striking? Easy, they want mo' money $$$$$$$$$$$$$
Oh yeah, one more thing! Teachers are going on strike tomorrow, which means no school for me! Hello 4-day week-end!! Hello walking!!

To make you smile on a rainy day

This is what I saw on my way home, on a rainy, grey and windy Tuesday evening!

A sc-hairy decision!

I don't consider myself to be a particularly vain person. I mean, I like to look good just like anyone else, but I don't spend hours in front of the mirror, looking at myself, analyzing what I am wearing, wondering if it makes me look fat or skinny, wondering what people will think of me. However, I do like my hair to look good, or at least, not out of control, which is not always so easy, as my curls are often unruly, and grow much faster than I would like!
One of the things I dread the most when I travel somewhere for a long time is the time when I will need to go to the hairdresser and get my hair cut. It is at that moment and only at that moment, that I wish I had straight hair, because I think (and I might be wrong here) that cutting straight hair is easier than cutting curly hair. My hair is much longer when it is wet than when it is dry and I am always scared that I will end up looking like a sheep because a zealous hairdresser cut off too much of my hair! It is hard to find a good hairdresser in a new city, especially when you have such a good one at home.

There is no lack of hair salons here in Berlin. Actually, there are a remarkable amount of them, but the question is, which one can I trust with my hair? There seems to be two kinds of hair salons here in Berlin: the smaller, fancier ones, that use professional products like Aveda or Redken, that offer you a Latte Macchiato or a Cappuccino, that give you a little head massage while they are washing your hair and that charge you a small fortune for your cut, and then there are the ones that offer a simple system of cut-and-go. Let me explain this system, as it is completely foreign to us. First, when you come in the salon, you need to take a number. When your number is called, you head to the sinks, where your hair is washed. After that, you go sit down again, towel on your head, and you wait for one of the hairdressers to be free. When one is free, he or she will call you, and will cut your hair. Once the cut is done, it is up to you to dry your own hair. Once that is done, all you have to do next is pay. As you can imagine, such haircuts are quite reasonably priced (on average 10-12 euro) and I think such salons are popular among students and men with short hair. I was not courageous enough to try such a place, but my friend Rebecca (who has straight hair) did, and she was very satisfied with her haircut.

I had my hair cut twice since I have been here. The first time, I went to my roommates' hairdresser, and although the cut was good, I was not particularly impressed with it (and it was very expensive!). The second time I got my hair cut (on a whim, because my hair was driving me nuts and I was ready to pull out every hair individually- does anyone else ever have that feeling?!), I tried my luck at a small, friendly looking hair salon that I found on my way to work. I was very satisfied with the cut that Verena gave me, and the next time I need to get my hair cut, I will be sure to return to her.

The name of this "hair salon" says it all!!!

Another example of the cut-and-go hair salons found all over Berlin

McPractical!

I love the German people- they are so practical! Where else can you go to McDonald's, eat your Big Mac and fries and then cross the street to go work out at your local McFit gym?!

It's simply McPerfect!